Amber in Medicine
History has documented medicinal uses of amber. A lot of ancient text includes amazing mentions of the positives of amber treatment. Amber has a unique charm and air of mystery surrounding it. In nineteenth-century literature we find evidence of amber having been used as a remedy for virtually all illnesses.

The Etruscans prized it as highly as gold. The Romans called it the "Northern Gold". The Greeks mythologized it as the tears of Apollo's daughters, solidified when they cried for their dead brother Phaeton. The Romans considered a single piece worth more than a slave. Cultures stretching from Central America to the Far East, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, have used it both as a powerful medicine and as a medium for exquisite jewelry and works of fine art. Haczewski wrote that amber was one of the six more efficacious medicinal substances. Amber is probably the only stone which is considered to be of such great use in medicine.

A few of the notable facts about amber's use as medicine are as follows:

• Ancient Romans believed that amber possessed medicinal qualities. Hippocrates (460-377 BC), father of medicine, in his works described medicinal properties and methods of application of amber that were later used by scientists until the Middle Ages.

• In ancient Rome, Amber was also used as a protection against different diseases. Calistratus, famous physician of those times, wrote that amber protects from madness, powder of amber mixed with honey cures throat, ear and eye diseases and taken with water cures stomach illnesses.
  

• Pliny the Younger noted that Roman peasant women wore amber medallions not only as adornments, but also as a remedy for "swollen glands and sore throat and palate".
  

• Persian scientist Ibn Sina (Avicenna) called amber remedy for many diseases.
  

• There was a belief in eastern countries that amber smoke strengthens human spirit and gives courage.
  

• In China "amber syrup", a mixture of succinct acid and opium, was used as a tranquilizer and antispasmodic.
  

• Prussian duke Albrecht decided to follow the recipe of a Roman physician and sent a piece of amber to Luther as a remedy for stone disease.
  

• In the Middle Ages, amber beads were even worn for the treatment of jaundice.
  

• Again in the Middle Ages, it was believed that the magic force of this yellow stone could absorb unhealthy yellowness of the skin and the weakness of the organism. Terms Oleum succini (amber oil), Balsamum succini (amber balsam), Extractum succini (amber extract) were often used in the recipes and records of the alchemists of those times.
  

• The legends and myths tell us that Prussians and Samogitians also used amber in the manufacture of incenses.
  

• In former times Lithuanian tribes employed such incense to drive away evil spirits from the dead and help the soul travel to good spirits.
  

• In many eastern European countries, the newly born babies were fumigated so that they could grow faster, the newly-weds - that they could live happily and those going to war so that they could return with spoils of victory.
  

• Before World War I, amber was still used for treatment of various diseases, e.g. tincture made of pieces of amber and vodka was thought to increase sexual potency of men. In Lithuania and in tsarist Russia nannies had to wear amber beads to protect themselves and babies from diseases.
  

• As late as before World War II, especially in Germany, amber beads were put on babies to make the eruption of teeth less painful and make the teeth grow stronger.

• Even now in Lithuania many women suffering from goitre purchase curative amber beads made of unpolished pieces of amber to wear around the neck.

• Since amber beads collect an electrostatic charge when touched and the oxidized surface contains the highest amount of succinic acid, it is used as a biostimulant that has a positive effect on the nervous system, the heart, and the kidneys and stimulates recovery processes. Other uses of amber include varnish, amber oil and distilled acids.

Real vs. Fake Amber
It is important to get to know amber well if you are seeking one or better yet, depend on a source that is authentic and reliable. In the middle of the 19th century, scientists discovered ways to synthesize natural precious substances. Due to the demand and the price amber commanded in those days, additional experiments and efforts to falsify amber picked up pace...

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Gem and Jewelry Education Pages
What is a diamond? How to buy diamond Jewelry? Online Shopping Tips.. Useful information on these and many other topics can be found in our Jewelry Education pages. Read on the useful information about diamonds, gemstones and jewelry in general. We believe the more you will know about jewelry, the better you can appreciate the quality and overall value of the jewelry we have to offer! We have compiled this useful information about diamonds, gemstones and precious metals with their history, facts, myths and all aspects of jewelry buying...

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